Snapshots
by Gil-Mithril with the Birds
Summary: Au. One Shot. Taking this in, she lies down and closes her eyes, sinking further into her memories that she has allowed herself in years.


**Hey guys!**

 **As mention in the description, this is an Au where they are still on Lorien and are Garde. It looks at Marina's life in small snapshots in roughly her teens and early twenty's.**

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In a clearing a young woman stood, a picture of serenity. Her breathing steady as she takes in her view. On the edge of the clearing, the trees stood tall and green with pride with mountains looking on. A small river ran through it with Lorite running through the exposed rocks. Overhead, the sky is clear and only few clouds spoiled the sun's rays. The grass itself spread out like a thick carpet in the clearing. Taking this in, she lies down and closes her eyes, sinking further into her memories that she has allowed herself in years.

 **XxX**

Shouldering her bag and her hand on the other, she started to walk away from her parents and toward the gates of her new school without a backwards glance. It's more than a week from the start of school, but the place is already bursting with people. Pushing her way through the crowd - without losing her bags - she makes it to her dorm building. Around her, girls are talking and shoving past each other, trying to do the same as her; find her respective dorm and be done with for the day.

She pushes her way through the foyer, ignoring the people around her. Feeling lost, she pauses in the middle of the foyer, hardly paying mind to the people telling her to move, to take in her surroundings. Above her is an impossibly high ceiling with chandeliers hanging down from it. To her sides are twin stairs cases that wind themselves up the many floors of the building. Both of the staircases are teeming with girls going up and down, attempting to find their respective dorm. Some new but most of them are returning students. The walls themselves are a pearly white colour. Not single sign of aging in the building. After the fourth persons shoves her, she gives up and makes her way up the stairs, hardly fighting against the flow of people.

It takes far longer than what she would like to admit for her to find her dorm, or at least the corridor it is in. The burgundy walls with all its ornaments seemed to be slowly closing in on her as she got closer to the door at the end of the hallway. Her chest tightening. A new year; a new room mate. Standing outside the oak door, she hesitated just before knocking the door to see if anyone's inside. Inside she could hear shuffling as whoever her dorm mate is, makes her way towards the door.

 _Seems like my new room mate got here before me. Even if I am a week early!_

Then the door burst open, showing a girl around the same age as her with raven locks and stormy grey eyes. Behind her, the room seems to shine and welcome her with the light from the open windows and the small plants dotting the room. Light oak wood furniture spread itself throughout the room, while the walls were an off white colour. Her eyes widen slightly as she spotted a large book case in the back, almost overflowing with books. Some which she recognises from across the room. Including several of her favourites.

Even with a hesitant smile and a rubber duck shirt, the girl looks like she could take her down in a heartbeat. Two of them just stand there staring at each other, without a clue what to do.

"Hi, I'm Marina," she blurts out of the blue. A small blush creeps up her cheeks. "I- Uh...I guess I'm your roommate." Fiddling with her straps, she smiles shyly. The other girl in the room narrows her eyes before a warm smile spreads on her face. A warm genuine smile. She then takes a step back, allowing her to enter the room with her bags. Once she crosses through, she closes the door.

"My name's Maren…"

 **XxX**

"Remind me why I'm doing this again Marina." The girl beside her groans. Smiling, she turns her attention back to the path in front of her and skips forward.

"Because it's for your own good. Besides I can finally meet this mysterious John, whom I've never met by the way. Honestly, I've known you for just over four years and I could've easily mistaken myself for being your only friend if I didn't hear about him every so often", she sing songs. The other girl only groans in response.

It's not long before they reach their destination, the Loft. The Loft itself is a rather modest coffee shop which double serves as a meeting place at the bottom, with chairs and small tables at every available space, and study area on the top floor for almost virtually any subject. Maren huffs past her and pushes her way into the Loft, almost sighing from the rush of warm air.

Navigating through the small maze of chairs, bookshelves and tables, she reaches the table where three boys sit. All of them are distinctly different with their appearance but with that aside, they act like brothers that have been with each other their entire lives. Two of them laughing while the other has a small scowl on his face. Suddenly the blond stands up and walks towards Maren. He wraps his arms around her in a bear hug, which she returns to the smallest extent possible yet the scowl on her face drops slightly. As this happens, her jaw drops while the one of the boys behind her wolf whistles. Turning around as the others sit, she takes in their appearances.

The blond who came up to Maren looks exactly like how she described him, well almost. Dark blond hair, clear blue eyes, paired a strong jaw and a lean build. While he's not the tallest of the group, he definitely is taller than both of the girls by quite a bit. He somehow emits an aura of subtle power, quite different from the pretty boy attitude Maren describes.

Shifting her head, her focus follows suit, this time on the boy who wolf whistled earlier. His long shaggy hair is tied up into a small ponytail, his body broad and muscular, shown off with his choice of tight shirt while his hands are covered in fingerless gloves. One of them is holding one of her favourite biscuits. A simple chocolate-chip biscuit from the Loft.

Then the final boy catches her attention as he flips a biscuit. His copper skin glinting in the firelight, like the boy next to him, his hair is long and dark, but curly. His build, slightly different to the others, is an athletes but with a more muscular torso. Looking at his face, she had to stifle a gasp. Emerald eyes glittered with glee while his lips were pink and full.

"Hey Marina," Maren calls out, breaking her from her admiration of the third boy's face. "Now that we're here, we might as well introduce ourselves to these people here. Shall we?" Nodding her head, she finally settles into the threadbare settee. The boys hearing this, instantly sit up straighter, almost completely synchronised. Both of them had to stifle a giggle this time.

"I'm John," the blond boy introduces himself, leaning back smiling while holding a mug of what seems to be coffee.

"Stanley." The second boy grunts as he crushes his biscuit. Seeing this she winces slightly, pitying the innocent biscuit.

 _What a waste of a perfectly good biscuit!_

"Don't mind that idiot there," interjects the boy Marina was admiring earlier says, ignoring the boy grunting again. "I'm Joseph. But can you can call me Joe if you want. Saves me from any more embarrassing nicknames," he said, motioning to Stanley who shrugs in response. Looking up, Joe's eyes meet Marina and flushes. At this she smiles shyly.

"Maren," Maren says as she pulls herself up from the chair, moving towards the counter. "Come on Mar, introduce yourself so we get something warm to drink," Maren mumbles under her breath as she passes Marina. At this she sighs and takes a deep breath.

"As Maren said earlier, my name is Marina." As soon as she says this, Maren drags her away towards the counter. Behind them, she could her John and Joseph laugh as Maren recited their order. Thankfully this time Maren remembered her distaste of coffee.

At least she made some new friends.

 **XxX**

She should've expected it. Honestly how did she allow herself into this delusion? They're in a middle of a war and she thinks that all the people she cares about will survive. Let alone unscathed. As she walked, frost sprouted out from her fingers.

 _Stupid. Stupid. Stupid! You knew this would happen, so why didn't you even think about! You should've fought harder._

All these thoughts ran through her head. Some catching onto others and turning into an inferno she couldn't contain. Unable to hold it, she collapses on to the harsh floor just outside of her new room. Stones digging through her thin cotton pants. The small amount of pain is a welcome break from the unforgiving thoughts. Curling into a ball, she starts crying softly into her hands, unable to care what others would think of her. Around her the ground grows colder as small tendrils of frost and ice grow out from around her. Sharp and jagged. Just like her breaths.

 _They're dead because you weren't there to protect them. All this training is worthless! I couldn't even protect my own family from them. How could I help lead a war against them? And if we win, how could I help run a planet?_

As she lay deep in her thoughts, she failed to notice someone approaching her until they're sitting down next to her - even when they had slipped on the ice - with their arms around her, pulling her closer towards their chest. At this small act, she takes in a deep shuddering breath to try and calm herself down. The person doesn't say a word as they wait for her to speak. With a final shuddering breath, she opens her mouth.

"I couldn't save them." She hiccups onto his chest. Soon a hand is stroking her hair as the tears continue to stream down. "I thought I could. I'm so stupid, I should've seen it coming after all, I was at the front lines, and I'm one of the first people to get information! I should've known they would take them hostage. Why did I listen to them? I should've just ignored them and just taken them here. If had done that, they would be here. Alive. Not dead with those Mogs. They won't even be buried properly at all. _Like they were nothing!_ " By the end of the rant, her voice had grown from a whisper to hoarse shouting. Pushing her head from his chest, it falls back onto the wall with a small thud.

"I got my parents killed," she whispers. "Why do you guys still want me here Joseph? I'm a mess. You shou-"

"Marina, listen to me and listen good," he cuts off, gently turning her chin so that she faces him, his face grim and comforting at the same time. An odd look but fitting and all too common to them now. "Firstly, you didn't get your parents killed. They wouldn't blame at you at all for their deaths. Don't give me that look Mar. And secondly, you are here because you are important. You help remind us to think before we straight into battle with no thought. You're the voice of rationality and empathy among us. Without you, we would've been off worse and most likely nearly lost already. For example, Adam. If you didn't help convince us that he was on our side, we would've killed him, without a doubt. See Marina, we do need you." He says all of this while looking directly in her eyes. Convection shining through his voice. Suddenly, her harsh breathing seems to calm down as she processes this.

"Remember Marina, they were caught while we were out fighting. There was no way that we would've reached there in time or heard about it until it was too late. Besides your parents are some of the most stubbornness people. Perhaps more than Stanley at times, honestly I don't know how you're not like that." At this she giggles slightly. The ice around grew less harsh, and became more like a haggard beauty. A reflection of how she felt.

"Plus, given they would've given the mogs hell! Using their legacies as much as they could just to piss them off when they could. They would've done everything. After all, they're proud of their daughter. A girl who has risen above all these odds, getting all of these badass legacies." At this she gives him a questioning look, which he simply grins at.

Ruffling his hair, he continues. "I mean it Mar. You can control all these legacies just the way you would. We don't need another Maren or Stanley, who although are brilliant fighters, just aren't you. Like I said earlier, we need all of us to complete the dynamic we are trying to create." As he finishes this, she fidgets with her fingers.

"Thanks Joseph, I guess I needed that," she says as she manages a weak smile, which he, as always, returned. Seeming satisfied with her new state of mind, he stands up and pulls her up too. Turning, she then opens the door to her room. A room which she shares with no one for once. She hardly notices the ice and frost decorating the hallway and her door as she steps through.

"Anytime Mar,"he grins. "Do me a favour will ya?"

"Sure."

"Whenever you get into this kind of mood, tell one of us would you." When he says this, he looks directly into her eyes. Nothing in his body language gave anything away suggesting this was a joke. This was after all one of the few he's been this serious. "Tell me, Ella or Maren. I mean she's not the best with emotions but she's probably someone that's like a sister to you. Both of them are actually. We all care about you Marina. Please just talk to us." Looking into his face, she can see sincerity written all over his face.

"Okay then."

 **XxX**

"We here now, announce our new Elders, The First of a new age," the former Pittacus Lore called out. As his cry echoed, more join in, to create a large roar. Beside her, her companions look on in disguised discomfort. No one in the crowd would know any better. Even those with telepathy or mind reading legacies. The war had taught them how to fortify their minds from unwelcomed probing. But being with them for so long has allowed her know their facial reaction and the cause behind them. And this time, that feeling was mutually shared with all of them. All of them, all whom can look confident whilst their planet waged at war, were at a large discomfort when public celebrations were focused on them. Even Stanley, who usually thrived on attention.

It wasn't long before the people started the celebrations. From the corner of her eye, she could see her friends flee the room, one by one, only noticed by her. Around her, people are celebrating much too festivity for her taste. Only a few short hours ago, the remaining Elders had given their seats and titles to them. At least to the six of them that did survive the entire war. The titles that weren't given would still be given to the next lot of Elders.

Turning away from the celebrating crowd, she turns to face the horizon.

Even three months later, the scars of the war are still visible on Lorien's surface, even with the Garde and Cepans working together. Forests and places of living has almost been completely damaged. Rivers now flowed differently to before. Mountains changed almost beyond recognition. New valley are carved into the ground. All of Lorien now utterly change. Well almost all. All but Sanctuary. A small island cut off from most of Lorien. None but the elders would dwell there. Not even Lorien herself could change that.

But to forget that, the remaining (Former) Elders stood firm on there should a celebration of their 'Becoming' as they called it. Most of them were against it, however when they saw their logic in their reason why, the relented and allowed it.

Sighing, she moved away from the party, nodding to Adam, and towards the door she saw some of her fellow Elders escape from. Breathing in the air, she steps through the door frame without a glance back. Keeping her head up head, she kept walking until she had found some of her friends. Allow them like her, wore formal clothing. A stark difference to the casual or combat clothing they had been wearing the past couple of years. All who despite being out of the public scrutiny, still looked uncomfortable.

All the violence and anxiety suddenly vanishing left confusion in its wake. Although they now held the responsibility of an entire planet on their hands, they felt as if their purpose had been finished. The dull roar of the party in the distance only seemed to emphasis this point. Sitting down beside Stanley on the bench, she sighed.

Only a few years ago, they had only been teenagers going on about their everyday lives when it had all flipped over. All of them going with their instincts and quick thinking. Now here they sat. A small group of young adults in formalwear sitting in a cluster in the furthest part of the garden. A few years ago, she would've scoffed at the idea of her being included in this group.

As the minutes passed by and fleeting glances passed to each other, they all reached a mutual agreement.

No matter what, they will stick together. They did so before, so now was no different. Just this time they now have the full support of all those whom they care about. Together to change things for the better.

 **XxX**

Only a year had passed from their coronation as Elders and they're already swamped in work. Whether it be from dealings from other planets, or small petty fights from their own people. The reconstruction of Lorien was going smoothly, a small joy from the mountain of work the six of them shouldered together.

Rubbing her eyes, she stood and walked towards the balcony to excuse herself from the mound of paperwork that sat on her desk. At times like these, she's thankful that she isn't Pittacus, since John has the most of the work due to his new title and role. But also in turn envies the others, who spend most of their time doing work in person, rather than on paper. Such as Stanley, who patrols Lorien at almost any given day. Or Ella who's down there, listening to people and interacting with them. Yet she's also glad she's in here, a place where she can hide away from the world yet still able to do things for her people and planet. She still visits the hospitals and small villages to put her legacies to use though. No point in having them if she's going to let her ability to use them wane.

It isn't long before she realizes that she's procrastinating and returns to her work. Soon she's flying through the work, taking much less time that she had estimated at the beginning. Even with the small breaks she took when she would mess up and reorganised her work space with her telekinesis. Plus her impromptu tea breaks.

An hour later, she's packing up she small bag and downs the last of her tea. Locking the balcony doors, the office doors knocks.

Freezing, her thoughts mill as she thinks over the possible of who it could be.

Definitely not Ella or Stanley as they're currently roaming Lorien and won't be back until their meeting next week. More like a small gathering where they'll share information, catch up and train. John would still be upstairs working and Maren would probably be up there with him doing her own work too.

As she does this, the person on the other side of the door seems to get impatient and teleports right in front of her.

Gasping in surprise, she stumbles back, dropping her bag. Catching her and her bag before the both of them hit the ground, the perpetrator has the gall to smile. Pulling her up and handing her bag back, his smiles turns into one of his infamous half smirks. She absentmindedly notes his hair is now just past his ears, rather than his shoulders. Another small change in their transition into becoming Elders.

"I see your awareness has dulled while working in an office Mar," Joseph smirks. Then he turns to look over her modest office. Her office is really just a rather spacious room with her own taste and design taken into consideration in the building of it. The furniture of her office are all make of the same oak wood that matches that of the ones in her home. A large comfy chair sits behind her desk, which is covered in small knick-knacks she's collected over the years and the remaining paperwork for tomorrow. Long heavy drapes cover the balcony door and the windows. The walls themselves are plain with only a few pictures on it. All of them showing fond moments in her life. She heard Joseph give a low whistle as he observed the amount of plants in her office. While there wasn't enough to be bothersome or seem crowded, it was definitely much more than what most people would keep. Even those with plant relating legacies.

Blushing, she reverted to her old habit of fiddling with the strap of her bag. Then he turns to face her.

"It's strange, isn't it. Not that long ago we were just kids with no worries or care in the world. Who knew that a group of teenagers that meet in coffee shop would go through all of _that_. And now look at us." As gestures to around the room as he said this. "It's crazy isn't it?" Shaking her head, she smiled.

"It is."

"I guess I could go on and on about that but that isn't the reason I came up here." Raising her eyebrow at his words, she frowns slightly. Confusion fills her mind as she tries to think what could possibly be the reason. At the look of confusion on her face, he gives a gentle smile, instantly brushing her worries aside. Suddenly his nervousness seems to suddenly creep up on him as he starts to fidget. Steeling his nerves, he looks straight into her eyes, although he continues to fidget.

"Marina would you like to- uh have coffee - or tea cause I know that you really don't like coffee but would you like to?" His cheeks a bright red by the time he finishes his stuttering. Shifting from foot to foot while he waits for her answer. She herself stood there, her mouth gaping like fish, unable to think let alone form coherent sounds. When he doesn't hear a response, his shoulders slump.

"It's okay if you don-"

"Yes," she cuts him off. Stepping closer, she wrapped her arms around him, dropping her bag and burying her face into his shoulder. For a moment he stood stiff before relaxing into her arms.

"Really, you would? I mean I'm happy that you want to of course but I didn't really think you would. Wait you do know that I mean to get coffee- err tea I mean as something more than friends right?" By the end of his rambling, his voice had gone from a tone of exclamation to an uncertain mumble. Yet his arms still wrapped tightly around her.

"Of course I would you big goon and I- uhh kind of assumed that you meant that, otherwise I would've been sorely disappointed." As she said that, a small smile spread across her face, still buried into his shoulder.

"Well, we can't have that now can we?" he jokes as he breaks from the embrace. The sudden rush of cold air, a reminder of the winter outside the building, made her wish that he hadn't. After letting her grab her bag and jacket, he leads her to the door with his hand in hers. "We better make our way there before the place closes on us. After all, I know how much you love their peppermint tea and brownies."

Closing her eyes at the thought of the food and the two of them there, her heart warmed at the thought. As he held out the door, she turn of the lights and stepped out, He then closed the door behind her with a soft click. Hearing the sound of John pacing the floor above she smiled. Linking arms with Joseph, they made their way out of the building into the winter air, making their way to the Loft.

 **XxX**

Rustling from the edge of the clearing brought her out of her thoughts. Smiling as she realised who it must be, she continued to lay on the grass keeping her eyes closed. The footsteps got closer until they're right beside her. For a moment they make no sound, until their clothing rustled as they lay down beside her. Turning her head and opening her eyes, she's met with emerald green ones. She smiles at the slight cowlick in his hair and his smile that's all over his face.

In a few hours, the Gathering would officially start and they would retreat into/onto the Sanctuary for the month. A small island untouched by any Loric that isn't an Elder or has any evil intention. Whither subconsciously or not. The sole reason why the rest of the Elders turned against him who weren't with Pittacus -the one before John- in the first place.

"Hey," she greets as she turns her head to face the sky again.

"Hey you." Hearing his reply, she begins to speak again.

"I never thought that my life would turn out like this, let alone become a Garde. I know both of my parents were, but you could never know." Sighing, she began to move the leaf in front of her in the air with her telekinesis. She then sought his hand out and intertwined their fingers together. A silent gesture that she didn't want to be interrupted until she finished. "You know when we were told that we're the next lot of Elders, I thought they had made a mistake. Honestly, they called me 'Little Meek Marina' at school. If it wasn't for Maren it probably would've been worse. Sometimes I wish that I was somebody else yet I don't at the sometime. Being with all of you, it had allowed me to grow into who I am now. Although I don't really like how it happened."

"But it's still so strange looking back on it. Less than ten years ago I met Maren, Four years later I meet you, John and Stanley. Another year later I met the rest. Then the war happened. It feels like such a whirlwind. Some nights I feel like it's just a dream and when I wake up I'll be disappointed."

"I feel the same way," Joseph says, almost out of the blue. Turning her head, she watches him speak while he faces the sky still. His face almost completely impassive, something she felt she would never see due to his every day to day demure. "It all feels so surreal, yet so real. In the war we had almost no think to think, let alone any breathing space to process everything. While we did think things through and did almost everything successfully, it was all on impulse. Autopilot I guess. Now that we have time to process it all, I don't really know how anymore. I mean, I still have the emotions, it's just not in the same time and space any more. Like I was just been handed a bunch of emotions and wasn't allowed to open them until it's almost irrelevant but I still have to deal with them."

"Honestly, I'm not sure how the others are dealing with them, but at least I know I'm not alone on this," he says as he turns to face her. Green on brown. Then his face lightens up. "Remember that time that Maren got Stanley during training when he decided to take shower and sing, quite loudly waking everyone up." Remembering this, she laughs. Not the small polite ones she does in public now days. But a laugh that's full of life and light, only reserved for those close to her.

"Or that time when John tripped Stanley over when he was running and he fell straight into the cans," she added. It had been during the war and they had been training. That time Stanley had been testing how fast he could go with his super speed. John had innocently left his foot outstretched in his path, tripping Stanley over. At the speed he was going, he had almost no control over his landing, a landing which had ended up on a pile of cans which were still full of paint. When Stanley emerged from the wreckage, he was covered in paint. Head to toe, in almost any colour fathomable. His black hair which had been tied back, was open and dripping with paint. To this day, none of them knew how and why they were there. Though she had her suspicions that it was Maren since she saw that she had only just emerged ready for training the moment Stanley started running. The both of them started laughing loudly without a care in the world.

Looking at the watch on her wrist, she realised that they only had an hour to meet up with the others before they would depart for the Sanctuary. Sitting up, she relayed the information to Joseph.

He immediately stood up and offered to pull her up too. Taking up his offer, he pulled her up. With a bit too much momentum and speed. Their chest bumped together in the close proximity. A small bolt of lightning zipped down her back.

His eyes stays locked on hers. She notices a new scar near his left ear, reaching up to trace it with the tip of her fingers. It's almost unnoticeable, and would probably heal up in a few weeks and leave not a single trace of its existence. For a brief moment she wonders when he had gotten it. He still surprises her, even after all these years and all the times he's kissed her, and she's still not used to it. Yet she loves it.

Then he leans forward and what little distance they had between them disappears just as her thoughts abandoned her. Nothing else mattered in that moment, time itself seemed to have come to a grinding halt. She threw her arms around his neck as she lost herself in the kiss and his peppermint breath. She could've gone like this forever but breathing became a necessity and they broke the kiss. Resting her forehead on his, they smile at each other, both of them out of breath.

 _Feels like the first time every time._ She thinks absentmindedly.

"We should start heading back now. It's almost time," she mutters almost regretfully. The she smirks. "Race you back," she calls out, using her super speed to her advantage. Looking over her shoulder, she only just catches Joseph teleporting away. Shaking her head in disbelief as she slows down to a walking pace. She shrieks in surprise as he suddenly appears in front of her. An impish grin forms on his as he watches her hold her hand over her heart.

"I got there and you weren't there, so I decided to come back here and pick you up," he said while bouncing on his heels. Shaking her head at his behaviour, she grabs his hand and together, they both disappear.

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 **Review are loved and cherished :)**

 **Contructive flames are accepted**


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